Thoughtless
by altonmodlin
Summary: It's 8 years after the battle for Hogwarts. Harry has married Charlie, and are coming back as professors for the first time since the battle. What secrets will the Caste reveal to them? How far will they go to protect a single student?
1. Chapter 1

_**Chapter One**_

Harry rolled onto his side, and sighed in his sleep. The smells of bacon, eggs, and biscuits were floating through the small house where he and his husband - Charlie - called home. They were both off today, and one had obviously intended to sleep in. He heard the pecking of a bird against the glass, and tried to ignore it. The bird, however, would simply not go away. Harry finally sat up in bed, stretched, groaned, and got out of bed. Dressed in only a pair of pajama bottoms, he walked across the cool hardwood floors to the window. He opened it, and let the owl into the house. He took the rolled piece of parchment from the bird's leg, and offered it a treat. It refused, however, and launched itself from the window. He sat on the bed, and unrolled the small piece of parchment.

_Harry,_

_I hope this finds you and Charlie well. I would like to have a meeting with the two of you, at Hogwarts. Please, come today, it would be best. _

_ Signed,_

_ Minerva_

Harry groaned to himself, and marched himself downstairs for breakfast. Charlie was waiting down stairs. He was at the table, reading the paper, while eating his plate of food. He was dressed in a midnight blue set of robes, Harry's favourites. He walked over to Charlie, and planted a light kiss on the man's lips. After only being married for just under a year, that was still something that both prided themselves on being able to do without issue.

"Morning love," Charlie said in between bites of his eggs. He waved his wand over his cup of coffee, which refilled with the black liquid. "Want some breakfast?"

"Morning. Yes, please," Harry responded rubbing the sleep out of his eyes. Charlie waved his wand again, and the plate loaded with eggs, bacon, and two biscuits came floating into the dining room. A cup of coffee prepared just the way Harry liked it floated into the room right behind the plate of food. The food and drink landed in front of Harry, who grabbed a fork and started to eat. When he was finished, he handed the parchment to Charlie. He read over the short note quickly and audibly sighed.

"I wonder what she wants?"

"We could blow her off. We had planned to go to the beach today, hadn't we?" Harry tried to pretend he wasn't curious as to what their former professor had to say.

"Right. Because receiving a howler from her on the beach would be _so _pleasant!" Charlie rolled his eyes to his husband.

"It was just a thought!"

They continued to eat in silence for a minute, Charlie reading and Harry pondering as to what the Headmistress of Hogwarts could _possibly _want with him and Charlie. Once the duo had finished eating, Charlie whisked the dishes off to the kitchen, and charmed them to clean themselves while Harry stalked up the stairs. He dressed in a black suit consisting of a black silk dress shirt, black slacks, dark red tie, black dress jacket. Finally he dawned his Ministry cloak over the suit - also black. He rubbed the official Auror seal over his heart, and felt the warmth of the charms embedded into the cloak. It was designed to protect the Ministry's Aurors, the witches and wizards that arrested dark wizards. He walked back down stairs, where Charlie stood waiting for him.

"Ready then?" Harry asked.

"How're we planning to get there?"

"I thought you'd hold onto me, and I'd simply apparite into the Headmaster's office."

"You can't? The wards?"

"Apparently, being the Head Auror and all, I have certain privileges that others don't. I can break any non-blood ward placed. Quite useful. Come on," he said, taking Charlie's hands in both of his. "Ready?" When he received a nod from the older, they disappeared into the air with a small 'pop'.

-oOo-

They reappeared in the Headmaster's Office, which will have without a doubt alerted the Headmistress to their presence in the school. They looked around the office, noting the subtle differences that eight years would have on the room. Several of the "new" books had a layer of dust on them an inch thick already, whereas the oldest books in the room you could play baseball with the dust bunnies on them. The several pictures of the Headmaster's over the years eye balled the two with a curious eye, most of them disapproving of the sudden appearance of two people in the office.

"You know," Harry whispered to Charlie, "This is the first time I've been here since the battle."

"I know," the man said and hugged his husband close underneath his arm.

"Misters Weasley and Potter," they heard from behind them, the voice of the Headmistress. "It's so good to see you both!" She took them both into a tight hug, both of her arms wrapped around the neck of one of the gentlemen.

"Hello Minerva," Charlie said for the both of them. "How're you?"

"I'm good, boys. How're you two?"

"We're doing well, thanks," Charlie answered, again. He noticed Harry was watching one of the portraits, but otherwise paid no attention to it.

"Still at Sirius' place?"

"Yes. After getting rid of that bloody portrait of grandmother Black, and a little touch up work, it's really a nice house," he tugged on Harry's sleeve, bringing him back to the present. "What's up?"

"It's uh...it's nothing. I'll tell you later, promise," Harry replied and focused on the conversation.

"Perhaps we could retire elsewhere or...?" Minerva started to ask, letting her voice trail off.

"It's okay, professor. I would like something to drink though, if it's at all possible?" Harry replied, his confidence returning.

"Yes, of course," the woman said, drawing her wand. She conjured three cups of tea, and then floated one to each person in the room. "I have something rather pressing to discuss, if you don't mind?"

"No, of course not professor. Please," Harry answered.

"As you know - or should - the term is about to start. Two weeks, actually. I find myself in a...well a tricky situation. You see, we have a student who will be attending Hogwarts this term. He's a first year. His father is a ministry official. This is all fair and well, with one small exception. The boy has been heavily abused since he was younger. Due to law, however, there wasn't much we could have done. Now, he will be behind the protective walls of Hogwarts."

"Professor," Harry started and paused to collect his thoughts. "What do you need from Charlie and I?"

"Well, for one I have two posts that have opened that I'll need filled. For two, with your ministry connections, it might go better."

"What might go better?" Charlie asked.

"Eventually, I hope to remove his father's rights over him. Then transfer them to a better parent or in the case of who I'm hoping for, parents. It will be a fight against the ministry, and it may prove useful to have you on our staff."

"Aha, so you're using us for our connections?" Charlie smiled at the woman.

"In a matter of speaking, yes," she returned the smile.

"Could we have a minute professor?" Harry asked.

"Yes, of course my dears," she said and drew her wand and pointed at her own head, muffling herself.

"Well?" Charlie was the first to speak.

"It could cost us our jobs," Harry said.

"Yeah, maybe, but Minerva needs our help. This kid needs our help."

"So it's settled then?"

"Settled," Charlie said and kissed his husband, while also releasing the muffling charm on the Headmistress. "What will you have us to do?"

"Oh splendid! Harry, you'll take the Defense Against the Dark Arts post, while Charlie, if you will, are going to do double duty. Keeper of Keys and Grounds as well as Care for Magical Creatures. Is that okay?"

"Yes," both replied.

-oOo-

The two stood in their bedroom, packing their trunks. After they had gotten home, they had a thorough round of sex, exhausting both of them. Now, several hours later, the summer day was slowly slipping away. They were packing magically, of course, but it was still a certain amount of planning required to do so. Harry had finished first, so he went downstairs. They planned to live at Hogwarts, however several things needed to be taken care of for the house. He went into the kitchen, held his wand towards the ceiling, and flicked it. All of the cups, plates, silverware, pots, pans, and other cooking and eating implements soared into a closet and stored themselves into the cabinets that were in the room. He then tapped the doorknob three times with his wand. The doorknob was locked, and a lock appeared on the inside of the door. Next he tapped the door, and it disappeared from sight.

He went into each room of the house, and did the exact same thing. Their bedroom was the last that was done. The only things left in any of the rooms were the large, bulk pieces of furniture that could not be concealed in the same ways. These he left out. After Charlie finished packing, they shrunk their trunks, and pocketed them. They took ahold of one another's hands, and cast the final wards over the house. Then, they apparited away from the house, and back to Hogwarts to get settled. As they had predicted, Minerva met them when they reappeared in the Headmaster's office.

"Well then, I assume you two will be rooming together? Silly question, come on, I'll show you some of the things you weren't privy to as students," she instructed them and lead the way.

They first ventured to their bedroom, which was just out side of Gryffindor Tower, behind a suit of armor. She demonstrated the entrance of the room by tapping the chest of the suite of armor, which stepped down and out of the way revealing a passage way - which was not there until the suite moved.

"While the activities you partake in are of course your business, I would suggest a silencing ward or so," she winked at the two. She waited outside while they ventured into the room.

The room was round in shape, and decorated in the red of Gryffindor House. There was a single queen sized bed in the middle of the room, a desk and chair, three book shelves, two windows, and a wardrobe in the room. All three book shelves were filled to and over capacity. The desk was neat and tidy with an ink well, two quills, and a few pieces of parchment on top. The boys took out their trucks, and placed them in the space between the bed and the wall, on the opposite side of the bed from the desks. With a quick wave of his wand, Harry made them back into their normal size. They left the room and proceeded to follow Minerva throughout the rest of the school. For the next hour, they were shown everything from the back ways through the Castle to the teacher's longue on the third floor. Finally, they made their way back to the Great Hall for supper, where the other professors had gathered for their meal. All of them smiled at the two while they took their seats. The chairs had been rearranged so that Harry was to Minerva's left, and Charlie to Harry's left.

"Well ladies and gentlemen," Minerva started. "I'm glad that Misters Potter and Weasley would join us this year. Obviously, we have a lot of work to do. And we're going to have to work together."

"Do we know who the boy is?" Professor Flitwick asked.

"Unfortunately, we do not. I suppose it will be a matter of guessing," the Headmistress answered with a sad look to her eyes.

"Don't worry, Minerva. I'm sure we can find the boy and protect him," Flitwick replied.

"Yes, of course we can," it was Professor Unik who spoke this time. He was the potions master.

-oOo-

The next two weeks flew by, and the first day of term was suddenly upon the school. Breakfast had been short and sweet this morning, most of the professors making final preparations to start the new school year. A few had been dispatched here and there to pick up muggle-born students. Harry and Charlie were going to King's Cross Station to ride the train back to the Castle with the students. The train had already left that morning, so they had simply Apparated to the station, where they were currently waiting for the first students to pass through the barrier. They were there along with Professors Flitwick and Unik, one looking all too excited to be here, the other looking like he'd much rather die.

The four of them heard them before they saw them. That is, the crowd of students that were coming down the platform towards the four were quite noisy and obviously exited to get back to Hogwarts to start the new school year. They gathered in front of the four professors, the chatter dying out incredibly quickly as they realized who was going to be one of their teachers.

Noticing the awkwardness, Charlie broke the silence, "Right then. First years? With me please!" He gathered all of the first years at the front of the train, since their carriage was the very first one on the train. While the older students were allowed to pick their seats as they liked, they grouped the first years in the first with the Keeper of Keys and Grounds.

"Every one else? Feel free to load onto the train," Flitwick said next. This seemed to snap the students out of the daze they had been trapped in. They said their good byes, and boarded the train, most separating into cliques and friendships they had already developed in the years past.

Harry consulted his pocket watch, and watched the hands tick for a second. The watch read ten of eleven, which meant that the train would be departing soon. He had still yet to see Ron and his sons come onto the platform. He was slightly worried about this, and had hoped he would. That's when he saw the mass of red hair moving towards him, Ron in the lead ushering his sons to the train. They would be third years this year, Harry idly remembered. Ron got them onto the train, and then hugged Harry tightly.

"Nearly missed the train mate!"

"They were being stubborn! Have a -" He was cut off from the whistle of the train.

They hugged again, and Harry dashed onto the train. He was barely in, with the doors snapped shut and he felt the train lurch forward. He snatched the tail of his robes out of the door, and made his rounds of the train. He started at the very last train, and worked his way forward to the third carriage, where he happened upon four Slytherin fifth years bullying a second year in the corridor. They had put a jinx on the boy, which caused the boy to be hung upside down by his ankles. He also had a blob of something sticky and green stuck to his face.

Harry drew his wand, pointed it at the boy suspended in the hair, and said _"Finite!"_ The boy was released from the suspension, and the green substance was removed from his face. He quickly scrambled away, leaving Harry with the four bullies. "Gentlemen, off to a rough start already are we?"

"Potter. I was told all about your triumph over the Dark Lord. Probably all lies," one of them spoke up first. He appeared to be the ring leader of the group and had jet black hair.

"I can see it's going to be a good year already. I'd suggest you return to your compartments now."

"I don't even understand why they allow _trash_ like you to teach at Hogwarts!" The boy shouted back, anger flaring on his features.

"Ten points from Slytherin," Harry said.

"We're not even at school yet!"

"Would you like to make it ten more? Slytherin is already off to such a great start this term."

"Come on, we should go," one of the students said grabbing the boy's arm. The boy allowed them to drag him away, much to Harry's amusement.

He went through the prefects' carriage, and finally made his way into the first years' carriage, at the very front of the train. He found that Charlie was sitting in a compartment in the middle, with two of the first years. He chuckled that the two first year girls were practically swarming all over him. He wondered idly about why he wasn't in the slightest jealous over this, but that was quickly dispatched from his mind. After all, he had no reason to be jealous over two eleven year old girls. He felt the tugging at his sleeve, which pulled him from his day dream and back to reality. The person doing the tugging was one of the first year boys, and possibly on the small side for his age. He barely passed the five foot mark - if he did at all - and he was incredibly skinny, to the point that his clothing hung loosely around his body.

"You're him, aren't you?"

"Who?" Harry asked, slightly confused.

"The one who defeated Voldemort of course!"

"Yeah, I am. Who are you?"

"My name's Billy. My dad fought with you at the battle of Hogwarts. I was real little though. I don't really remember any of it. Charlie is your husband, isn't he?"

"How did you know that?"

"Um... My dad... Sorta hinted at it... And then I saw you staring him, I just sorta uh put it together?" The boy seemed to cringe a little, as if Harry were going to hit him.

"Who is your dad?"

"Longbottom, he said he went to school with you?"

"Neville is your dad?"

"Yeah," the boy nodded.

"Yes, we did. Would you do me a favor?"

"Sure!" The boy's face lit up at the chance of doing someone a favor.

"Would you mind not mentioning to too many people that Charlie is my husband? Yeah, it's fact and all, I just don't want to stir the pot so to speak."

"Oh yeah, of course!"

"Speaking of which, perhaps you should find an empty cabin and make some new friends? I'd like to spend some time with him."

"Oh, okay," the boy said and wandered off. Harry idly wondered if he had hurt the boy's feelings.

He entered the cabin Charlie was in, who dismissed the two girls from the cabin. They snuggled up together in the cabin, to wait for the arrival of the train at Hogwarts.

-oOo-

The train finally arrived at Hogwarts, and all of the students unloaded and departed. Charlie taking the first years to the boats, and Harry went with the older students to the carriages. After the last carriage was loaded nearly to capacity, he climbed in and settled down for the ride back to the Castle. The other occupants were incredibly silent, making the ride awkward and uncomfortable. Much to everyone's relief, the carriage finally arrived at the gates to the Castle and all of the students unloaded and started towards the doors, their chatter already returning. Harry flicked his wand at the gates, closing them and resealing the wards over the Castle. He made his way inside, and took his seat at the staff table, beside Minerva.

She stood, and the hall silenced, reminding Harry of how Dumbledoor used to start the school term. "Welcome students, welcome. I hope your summers were filled with all sorts of adventures. We have two new professors joining our staff this year, Professor Potter," she indicated Harry, "Who will be teaching Defense Against the Dark Arts. As well as Professor Weasley," she indicated Charlie, "who will take the post of Keeper of Keys and Grounds as well as Care of Magical Creatures. I trust you will welcome them back to Hogwarts," she paused for a minute. "A few restrictions have been placed for this school year. These are, of course, for the protection of all of our students." She waited a minute for the grumbling to die out, then continued, "These are mostly small things, so not to worry. However, first years will not be allowed to take flying lessons first term, but rather second. They will also not be allowed to try out for the quidditch teams, obviously.

"As for other restrictions, certain seals have been placed on a couple doors in the Castle. Regardless of your attempts to do so, you will be unable to break these seals. They have been placed by a magic far stronger than your own. You are advised that attempting to break any of these seals will result in your magic being suspended. You will be unable to perform any of the tiniest magical feats.

"Now I do say, dig in!" She finished and the plates on the tables filled with food, and every present did exactly what they were told to do: dig in.


	2. Chapter 2

**Warning: **Slight sexual activity, be warned.

_**Chapter Two**_

The first two weeks of the new term simply flew by, leaving Harry and Charlie very precious little "alone" time. They had taken to sneaking away into broom closets, and stealing kisses in between classes. Harry realized with a start that he was day dreaming again, while sitting at the table for breakfast. Charlie was currently holding his left hand underneath the table. By now it was common knowledge throughout the school that the two were married, and as a result they no longer attempted to hide the status from the students and staff. The great hall was starting to thin out, students departing for their classes. Harry finished his half-eaten breakfast quickly, and rushed to his first class of the day: Gryffindor and Slytherin fourth years.

He walked into the classroom and was surprised to find that the classroom was nearly destroyed from the several pairs of dueling students in the room. Several desks were destroyed, as well as several chairs. There seemed to be a layer of shredded papers on the floor, as well as a massive ink stain in the middle of the room.

Harry quickly grabbed his wand, pointed it at ceiling of the room and shouted _"finite incantatem!" _Which quite effectively stopped all of the magic in the room. _"Accio wands,"_ he said next, summoning the wands out of all of the student's hands. "Everyone has detention tomorrow. Here, with me," he finally announced to all of the students. He flicked his wand again, and the room repaired itself.

"But professor, we'll miss the try outs!" A student groaned.

"I do not care. So you'll miss the match. Next time instead of starting an impromptu duel in _my_ classroom, you will think of the consequences. You will be here promptly at eleven am. Understood?"

"Yes professor," they all chimed in sequence.

"Good. Open your books to page two-eighty-three. As you see can, this is about Horcruxes and their uses. Who here can tell me the significance of these?" He waited and a single hand shot up. "Yes?"

"The Horcrux is incredibly dark magic. It's a storage device, of sorts, for a part of someone's soul. It can only be split by cold blooded murder," the girl in the very back said.

"Yes, that is exactly so. Voldemort, possibly one of the most powerful wizards in all of history, used this method to extend his lifetime. As was pointed out by Miss Wilkes, it is incredibly dark magic, possibly among the darkest of all magics. Can anyone tell me the effects of trapping part of a soul in a horcurx?" Another hand shot up, in the front this time, who Harry nodded at.

"It's thought that the soul and body are too separate entities, one contained within the other. When you split the soul, while it doesn't make you immortal, it makes it so that if the body and the soul contained within is destroyed, yet the horcrux remains, the body can reborn. In all intensive purposes, you technically are immortal as long as a horcrux remains."

"Yes, exactly. Destroying a horcrux can be extremely challenging, depending on the specific enchantments placed on the items. There are certain charms that have been developed in order to detect when an object has been turned into a horcrux. You should know, however, that these too can be blocked. One such charm is _frillious_. It is listed in the text there. When you have an object you suspect to be harboring someone's soul, you simply take the object, wave your wand over the object, and say the charm," Harry took his pocket watch out and held it in his hand. He waved his wand over the watch then said, _"frillious."_ The watch let out a royal blue glow for a minute or two then the glow disappeared. "The object in question - as you saw - will emit a glow. The colour of the glow indicates if it is a horcrux or not. The blue like you saw, indicates that it is not now nor has it ever been a horcrux. Nor has it ever been near a horcrux.

"If it glows a yellow, this tells you it has been near a horcrux in the past thirty years or so. Quite a time range." He pulled out a quill, which he had when he destroyed one of Voldemort's horcruxes. _"Frillious,"_ he said moving the wand over the quill, which gave off the yellow glow. "Orange indicates that it was at some point a horcrux. Red indicates that it is currently a horcrux. Now, I'm going to return your wands to you. I want you to practice this on objects you have. Do not be alarmed if you find any yellow-glowing objects," he said and flicked his wand at the wands that were on the desk, which returned to their rightful owners.

As he walked around the room, he noticed a rather odd pattern. The closer he got to the middle of the room, the more frequently the objects being tested glowed yellow, and not blue. That's when he noticed a single student pulled out a small ring from her pocket that under the frillious spell glowed red. Harry picked up the ring and performed a more complex spell, which rendered the same results.

"Where did you get this?" He asked the student.

"It's a family ring, I've had it for years!"

"My dear, I'm afraid I'm going to have to take it. I'll need to consult with the Headmistress. Are you feeling okay?" Harry asked when he noticed the student started looking pale.

"I, no," she said. Harry took out the ring and put it back into her hands, and her colour improved drastically.

"Come on, we're going to the hospital wing right now. Someone fetch the Headmistress and tell her to meet me at the hospital wing straight away!" Several students hurried to leave the room, and Harry scooped the girl into his arms.

He hurried through the halls as well as he could, shouting at students to get out of the way. He finally made it to the hospital wing, where he found the Headmistress waiting for them. She opened the door, and Madam Pomprey swarmed onto the child.

"What on Earth Mister Potter?" Minerva asked, after the student was in the safe keeping of Madam Pomprey.

"We were studying horcruxes and how to identify them, using the _frillious _charm. When she pulled the ring from her pocket, applied the charm, and it glowed red. I took the ring so that I could further investigate it and consult with you, when she started looking very pale. I returned the ring, and her colour improved drastically. That's when I brought her here. Looks like the ring has been cursed."

"Her status has much improved," Madam Pomprey said. They had put her into a bed, where Harry and Minerva were currently standing. "I've given her something to help her sleep."

"We'll need to destroy the object, of course," the Headmistress said. "However, we need to do some research into the exact nature of the object. It's possible that by destroying this ring, we'll kill the student."

"Right. I'll see what I can dig up," Harry said.

"I will contact her parents to see if we can get more information on the item," Minerva said.

"You don't think that this student created this horcrux do you?" Madam Pomprey asked.

"No. It's tied to her, like she's been cursed, but it's not hers," Harry stated. "What? I checked."

-oOo-

Harry discovered that he had an afternoon free after lunch, so he headed to the library to do some more research on horcruxes. He, Ron, and Hermione had done extensive research on horcruxes during the second war, but that was focused directly on destroying them. Now he intended to focus more on curses that could bind another person to the horcrux. He started in the curses section, and within minutes had a stack of books piled up on a table towards the back of the room. There were a few students in the library as well, who mostly regarded him from a distance but avoided him.

"Want some help?" He looked up to see his husband standing there.

"Sure," he said, not stopping what he was doing. "I'm looking for curses that could bind a person to someone else's horcrux."

"What's up?" His husband said, sitting down and cracking open one of the books.

"I had a student, who was apparently carrying around a horcrux. I took it from her so it could be destroyed, and her health declined quite suddenly. I returned it, and her health returned to a normal level almost instantly."

"So you're thinking long term exposure could make the curse stronger?"

"Yeah, something like that. I handled it, and didn't have any issues. The thing is, all the books I've looked through don't mention anything about the curse getting stronger over time."

"Ok. I'll check in the restricted section for more stuff," Charlie said already starting to walk away. "What?" He said when he noticed Harry giving him a funny look.

"Nothing," Harry lied.

"It's just the restricted section. We're allowed to go in there now, you know."

"Yeah, I know, it's just weird. Go on then."

"Right," Charlie said already walking towards the restricted section in the library. Harry watched him walk away for a minute, noting that the man was purposely swinging his hips left and right just a little. He had to reach down and adjust his boxers, which were currently constricting around his now hard organ.

_Going to have to do something about that later,_ Harry thought to himself.

He continued to look through the books, until he stumbled across a passage that he thought would help. He hadn't fully read the passage yet, when Charlie came back to the table, a stack of books floating behind him. The stack of books - if it were sitting on the ground - would have surely came up to Charlie's chest, at the very least. He sat them on the floor beside the table.

"I think I found something," he said. "I only found snippets here and there, hence all the books," he waved his hand at the books.

"I found something too. It looks like it's a curse placed on ancient Egyptian burial sites. The ancient Egyptians placed them on valuables so that when they were stolen, the holder would eventually become reliant on it. Eventually, after having the object for a long time, their life force transfers to the object. So when the object is removed, the body starts to die. And it can be quite rapid," Harry informed the other what he had found.

"Yeah, I also found somewhere," he said and grabbed one of the books and flipping through it. "Aha, here it is," as he found his page, and flopped the book down in front of his husband. "The longer it's kept in a blood line, the stronger it gets."

"It says here," Harry said putting his finger to the book, "That blood fuels it. You think it was designed to destroy pure blood magic lines?"

"I dunno. Let's take what we've found to Minerva. Maybe she'll have a better idea," Charlie suggested. Harry nodded and the two gathered the few books, shrunk them, and retreated from the library.

They made their ways through the hallways, mostly empty now, as most students were in class. they approached one of the broom closets, and once again Harry had to adjust his hard organ. He made a split second decision, grabbed Charlie, and pulled him into the broom closet. He whipped out his wand, and put up a couple of wards and proceeded to kiss his husband passionately. Charlie took the queue, and stripped them both of their robes. Harry shook his hand once, flicked his wand, and they both stood bare in the closet. Impatient hands roamed over warm flesh, both exploring with an unmatched fever.

-oOo-

After they had relieved themselves, they untangled from one another, and stood panting in the broom closet. Harry took out his wand, and spelled away the mess, leaving both of them clean without a trace. They quickly got dressed again, albeit a slight less neat then they were before.

Harry pressed his lips to the man, then whispered in his ears, "Merlin. That was good. I love you."

"I love you too, Harry," Charlie said in between pants.

Finally, Harry lifted the wards and they left the closet, proceeding towards the Headmistress's office. They let themselves in by saying the password to the gargoyle, which jumped out of the way and the spiral stair case appeared. They stepped onto the stairs, which started to move upwards. They landed at the top of the flight of stairs, and walked into the office, where they found the Headmistress at her desk, writing furiously with her quill.

She took note of their messy look, rose, and smoothed her robes. "Yes?"

"We found something, professor," Harry started. They handed her their notes as well as the books where they found the information. She sat back down into her chair, and started to read. She made small noises every so often, but otherwise did not speak until she had finished.

"Charlie, if you will, dispatch an owl to your brother, Bill. I think we will need his expertise on this matter."

"Yes, of course," Charlie agreed.

"Professor?" Harry started.

"Yes Mister Potter?"

"I think I may have possibly found the child we're looking for."

"Oh?"

"Yes. But is there anyway to know for sure? I mean, a spell or so we can perform?"

"Well no, not entirely. He's being heavily abused at home. But there's more to the story that I haven't entirely told you about. You see, the boy is the direct descendant of Helga Hufflepuff. Meaning that the boy is one of the founders of the school. Mister Potter, you are of course descendant of Godric Gryffindor. That means at this very minute, there are three founders in this school. I know you've felt it, the school is protected by ancient magics. They don't teach it any more, but magic is sentient. More or less, the Castle is alive."

"Three?" Charlie asked.

"Who is the third?" It was Harry this time.

"My dears. I am the direct descendant of Rowena Ravenclaw."

"What does all of this mean?"

"I'm not entirely sure. It's possible that after all of the evil that has been done inside of these walls, the Castle has gathered us all here. I'm not sure why, though."

"Harry says that sometimes the Castle responds to him, talks to him. You think this is why?"

"Yes, of course it is. The Castle knows that Harry is here, and the magic is bending to Harry's will. He's allowed to tap into magics that are normally reserved for the Headmaster. I can say that while here, the Castle will do whatever it can to protect the founders. Voldemort was able to attack the Castle because when he opened the Chamber of Secrets, and it was then sealed again, much of the Castle's magic was blocked. Now, it has been restored. There's absolutely no tellings to the limits of the Castle's magic. I can absolutely promise you though that the Castle is even safer. It will protect the students and staff naturally, but also the founders. I wouldn't be surprised if things start to get weird around here."

"Come on now, professor. It's Hogwarts. When isn't it weird around here?" Charlie spoke first. It seemed that Harry was still digesting this information that he had been provided.

"Weird how?" Harry finally asked.

"Magic is governed by certain laws. Some of these laws are also physical laws that govern the natural world. For instance, two men who have sex can't get pregnant. It's impossible. Two males simply lack the equipment. Silver is silver because it exhibits the properties of silver. Just be aware, gentlemen. Was there any thing else?"

"No," both Harry and Charlie said at the same time, turning to leave.

"Oh, boys?" Minerva called them back. "Next time fix your robes," she said and winked at them. Harry blushed deep to his roots, his face looking more like a stop sign than a face.

Charlie grinned from ear to ear then replied, "Yes professor," and started to drag his husband out of the office.

Once they were safely in the staircase, Harry turned to his husband with a face of pure horror. "Oh Merlin! She knows!"

"Harry, Harry, snap out of it, Harry," Charlie said trying to calm the other down. "It's okay. There's not much that goes on around here that the Headmaster doesn't know. That's why we put wards up in our room."

"That's so embarrassing!" Harry protested, basically being dragged through the halls.

"We're grown, married men. I'm sure she's heard all about what boys do when the lights go off. It's not a big deal, Harry."

Harry rolled his eyes, and lightly hit the man on the chest. "You like the attention, don't you?"

"Me?" Charlie said, trying to put on a look of innocence but failing miserably. "Here's your stop love," he said as they arrived in front of the Defense Against the Dark Arts classroom. "You have a class, I believe," he silenced any further protests by planting a kiss on Harry's lips. Before the man could say any more, Charlie bowed and hurried away to his own class.

Harry walked into the classroom, and was greeted by several cat calls and whistles. He realized that this was the fifth year Gryffindors and Slytherins, much to his delight. He glared at them, and the cat calls and whistles calmed down. He flicked his wand at the blackboard, and writing started to appear. It was a list of pages for the students to complete for their homework.

"Right. Your homework, please?" Harry asked, and the students put their homework onto the top of their desks. _"Accio homework," _Harry said, and the homework floated towards the front of the room. He directed it to land on his desk. He flicked his wand again, and the homework arranged itself on the desk in a neat and orderly pile.

-oOo-

It was late at night, and Harry had just completed his rounds of the Castle. He made his way to the hallway where his and Charlie's quarters were, and heard a hushed conversation around the corner. It appeared that they were having an argument. He walked around the corner, and the two voices had disappeared. He flicked his wand whispering _Lumos _to shed some light o the area. While he didn't see the actual people, he saw a piece of parchment laying on the ground. He picked it up, and pocketed it, not bothering to see what it was. He extinguished his wand, walked up to the statue that guarded their quarters, tapped the chest plate making the suite step down.

He walked inside to the sound of throwing up, and was immediately concerned. He raced into the bedroom area, and then into the bathroom, where he found Charlie puking his guts into the toilet. The man heaved and heaved, until all he was heaving was nothing. Even then, his body was racked with the urge to throw up. Harry dropped to the floor beside the man, and held him, while the other fought him away. Harry held fast though, and eventually the heaving stopped. Harry helped him stand up, and then back into the bedroom where he helped the man sit on the edge of the bed.

"Oh Harry, I'm so-" he was cut off by a dry hurl "-sorry. I didn't want you to see-" another dry hurl "-me like this."

"It's okay Charlie. What happened? Did you eat something that didn't sit well?"

"I don't really know. I think I'll lay down," Charlie said already laying down in the bed. He left all of his clothing on.

Harry crawled into bed beside him, and held the older man in his arms. They fell asleep like that, one being held by the other. Harry hadn't even bothered to put up the wards.

-oOo-

Harry woke with a start in the early morning, the events of last night crashing down on his semi-awake mind. He noticed with a start that Charlie wasn't in bed, and that's when the smell of throw up hit him full force. He listened for a minute, and heard the familiar sounds of hurling in the bathroom again. Harry rushed into the rather small bathroom, and again held the man until he stopped throwing up his guts.

"That's it," Harry said as gently as he could. "I want you to go see Madam Pomprey today."

"Okay Harry, I will," Charlie half grinned.

"Promise me?"

"I, Charles Weasley swear on my magic that I will consult Madam Pomprey about my throwing up today," he swore and a gold flare of magic circled around them and then disappeared.

"You didn't have to take an Oath."

"I know. I think I'm going to skip breakfast, if that's okay. I'll go see her before my first class. I have a free period this morning."

"Okay," Harry said and went to kiss the man on the lips.

"Ugh, please don't, my mouth tastes like throw up," Charlie said as he held up his hand to block Harry.

"You're right. You'll be okay?"

"Yeah love, go have some breakfast. If I know you, you're hungry." As if on queue, Harry's stomach grumbled.

Harry got dressed and left the room, worry clearly plastered on his face. He went to the great hall, and took his place beside Minerva. It was Saturday, the day of the try outs, and most of the students were still asleep. As a result, the great hall was slightly more emptier than usual.

"Is everything with Charlie okay?" Minerva leaned over to say in his ear.

"I'm not sure. I got back to our quarters last night, and he was throwing up. I woke up this morning and he was still throwing up. He even declined breakfast this morning."

The Headmistress arched her eyebrows then continued, "a Weasley passing on food? They normally have incredible appetites. Is he going to consult Madam Pomprey?"

"Tell me about it. He can usually eat a horse on his own. And yeah, he said he'd go today."

"Good. Let me know how he is?"

"Yes, of course professor. If you'll excuse me, I have detention this morning."

"Aha yes, I heard. Off with you then," she said and effectively dismissed him from the table.

He made his way up the DADA classroom, where his students were all ready gathered. He walked in, and he noticed that several of them were glaring at him. Each had a quill and piece of parchment out, along with their DADA book.

"Right. You have two hours to complete a four thousand word essay on the propers of dueling. Once complete, you are to remain until the last person finished."

"But professor!" One student protested.

"Make that a six thousand word essay. With proper siting and references. Want to make it eight?"

"No," the class moaned.

"Good. Get started. Six thousand words, proper siting and references," with the final instructions, he flicked his wand at the blackboard, where a hour glass appeared in the chalk. Sand started to fall straight away.

**A/N: **Reviews are always welcome!


	3. Chapter 3

**WARNING:**** Part of this chapter contains a topic that may be uncomfortable for certain users: child abuse. **If you wish to skip this, it starts at "" and ends at the next scene cut (-oOo-).

_**Chapter Three**_

Charlie sat in the hospital wing, fidgeting with his robes. Madam Pomprey had seem him into a more private room, right after breakfast. She had poked and prodded him for nearly three quarters of an hour, and had finally left to run a couple of tests on the blood sample she had taken from him. Now he sat waiting for her to get back, and found himself wishing that he could have gone to the try outs down on the pitch. Thankfully, being a Saturday and the day of quidditch try outs, the hospital wing was mostly empty, and there hadn't been too many students to see him stalk up here. After another twenty minutes of waiting, Madam Pomprey came back into the small room, her face was full of concern.

"Is everything ok?" Charlie asked rather shyly.

"Well, yes and no. It's rather hard to explain, but I've consulted with the Headmistress. Apparently she told you some weird things might start happening around here?" She asked and Charlie nodded in response. "It seems that the Castle has been paying attention to you and Harry, in particular Harry. What I'm getting at, is that it's rather broken a couple of laws of nature to give you and him what you want most."

"You're joking, right? That's impossible."

"Yes, it should be. Which is why I did so much. But it would seem that it's not as impossible as we thought. As we said, the Castle is trying to help the two of you - even if its way is a little messed up."

"What's all this mean?"

"Well, that's the bad part. As you will have noticed, you don't exactly have anywhere for the baby to be born. So when the time comes, we'll have to take the baby magically. Otherwise, it would seem that your body has adopted to the changes. Right now, the baby is healthy and growing at an astronomical rate. With your permission, I'd like to put a couple of monitoring charms on you. If the baby gets distressed or when it decides it's time to come out, I'll know it."

"Yes, please do," Charlie forced out, his mind was reeling with all the information he had been given. "How fast is it growing?"

"Well, roughly three times faster than an arrange infant."

"So you mean in three months I'll be having a child?"

"Roughly, and if the current rate continues, yes."

"Blimey," Charlie said and cradled his head into his lap.

"Charlie, you should understand, there's certain risks involved. We may not be able to get to the baby in time," Madam Pomprey said, patting the man on the shoulders. She flicked her wand at him, enabling the monitoring charms.

"Ugh!" Charlie groaned in frustration.

"Shh, it's alright. Don't worry. I'll do whatever I can."

"Have you uh, dealt with this before?" Charlie finally asked after a minute or two to collect his thoughts.

"I've delivered plenty of babies in my time. It's just that all of them have been from females. I have a college in the United States, who I could call in. He's got more experience in this than I do."

"Would you?"

"Don't worry Charlie, I've already sent him an owl. He'll want to see you, of course."

"Thanks, can I go?" Charlie asked to which Madam Pomprey nodded. He got up and left the room, aiming to find Harry.

-oOo-

Neville sat his desk, at the Ministry of Magic, doing paperwork. He had been worried constantly for the past two weeks, wondering if those idiots called professors at Hogwarts would discover his secret. So far, they hadn't, which didn't serve to help his worrying habits. His son - who he had pretty much abused since he was two - was a first year at the school. The child had been born as a mistake, when Neville himself was still a student at the school. He and his girlfriend at the time, Luna, had made passionate love in the empty potions classroom...both of them clearly forgetting certain precautions. The child had been born in a cave, down by the lake. Luna had stashed him away with her grandparents for the time being. Just before the end of the war, her grandparents had been killed, forcing them to take the child back. Eventually, she was arrested for war crimes and sent to an asylum, leaving Neville the child.

"Stupid bitch," Neville spat.

He had been so focused on what he was doing, that he hadn't noticed that Kingsley had walked into the room, and was currently leaned against the door frame, watching the man carefully. Neville returned to his work, all the while muttering insults here or there to his soon to be ex-wife. It had taken him eight years to do it, but he had finally found a way to nullify their pathetic marriage. Now that she had been declared mentally unstable, it opened all sorts of doors to him.

"Mister Longbottom," the Minister of Magic finally spoke up, shattering the silence in the room.

"Oh, Minister," Neville stuttered out, his voice suddenly quite weak. "What can I do for you?"

"For starters, audit the Black family. After that, come see me in my office," the Minister said and left the cramped office.

He retreated back to his own office, took out a quill and parchment, and wrote a quick dispatch to the Headmistress of Hogwarts. It was short and sweet, but it got the point across. He attached the letter to the leg of his owl, and told the owl to make haste. It launched into the air, and soared across the landscape.

-oOo-

When the owl arrived, Minerva took the note, gave the owl a treat, and opened it. The owl didn't bother to stick around for a response, so she assumed that the letter was self contained.

_M,_

_About what we had discussed, I believe I know the culprit. I am sorry to report that he is one of my own. If you can find his child, then you will have my full backing. The law will work against us, but it can be worked around. Let me know when you have something._

_-K._

She reread the letter a couple of times to make sure of it's contents, then went to find Harry and Charlie. She knew the latter had gone to see Madam Pomprey earlier, so didn't want to intrude on that. The former, however, she guessed would be roaming the hallways after his detention. She tried to sense him, using the Castle's magic, and was rewarded when she discovered he was in their room. She left the office, heading straight there.

She tapped the statue on the chest with her wand, and he moved out of the way. She walked into the small living area, and called out to the man. He responded that he'd be straight out, so she sat down on the couch to wait. She conjured a pot of tea and some cookies to munch on while she waited. After a few minutes, he come out of the bedroom, wearing what appeared to only be a blue shower robe.

"Aha, good morning, professor," Harry started. "Sorry, I had just gotten into the shower."

"It's quite alright, Harry. Here, have a look at this," she said and handed the man the note from Kingsley. After he had finished, he returned the note and she continued, "So, who is the one you think it is?"

"Billy Longbottom," Harry said. "I think it's time we had a chat with him."

"Perhaps it's better if you did alone? I may have scared him a little the other day. Strictly by accident of course. How's he do in class?"

"He's wonderful in class. And I think so."

"Perfect. I'll just take my leave then," Minerva announced, already moving to leave the cramped living space.

Harry quickly dressed, and went digging in one of his trunks for an item he hadn't used in quite some time, his Marauder's Map. He quickly located the student he was looking for, who was currently in Charms. He stashed the map back into his trunk, sealed it, and left the room. He went up the stairs, through the hallways, and finally arrived at the Charms classroom. He opened the door, and walked in, ducking when he saw a fountain of water head his way. When he saw the younger man enter, Professor Flitwick stopped the lesson for a minute or two.

"Aha, Professor Potter. What can I do for you?"

"I was wondering if I could borrow Billy for a minute?"

"Um, yes, I don't see any reason that should be a problem," Flitwick replied. Billy gathered his things, and went to the back of the classroom.

"Shall we take a walk?" Harry asked the boy who nodded, nervously. They walked to the Great Hall, where one of the house elves brought them a snack of sliced fruit and pumpkin juice. They sat down beside one another at the table.

"What was it you wanted to talk about Professor?" The boy asked nervously.

"Well, we uh, we've noticed that you're very skittish around the staff, and react very badly to punishment here at school. We were uh wondering is everything ok at home? I want you to understand Billy, whatever's going on, you can talk to me. I'll do whatever I can to help out. I am an Auror, you know," Harry tried to be as gentle as possible with the boy.

"I...uh...I don't want to talk about it, please, don't make me, sir," the boy choked out in between tears.

"It's okay Billy. No one will hurt you here," Harry said and hugged the boy.

"My dad," he said in between sobs.

"Does he hit you?" Harry asked, and the boy nodded, still sobbing. "Anything else?"

"He forces me to do things," the boy sobbed out.

"Sexual things?" Harry asked, and held the boy closer.

"Please," the boy sobbed against Harry's chest, "please don't tell him," he said. "He makes me strip and does painful things to me," the boy cried harder.

"Shh, it's okay, Billy," Harry said in a soft voice and held the boy tight. "We won't let him hurt you anymore."

They sat for a long while, Harry assumed it was close to an hour. He didn't say anything more, just held the boy and let him cry until his heart couldn't cry any more. He finally took the boy to Madam Pomprey, who performed a physical examination to him. She healed some of his wounds that were still fresh, and took careful note of all of the injuries. After she was done, he hugged both of them tightly, and he went to his dormitory.

-oOo-

Harry sat in his and Charlie's room, cross legged on their bed. He was wearing only a pair of boxers and pj bottoms, and was drinking a cup of tea. His mind was whirling with the information he had learned, and his heart sagged heavily. He idly heard the older man enter the room, but paid no attention it. Charlie changed into his sleep clothes, and sat on the bed behind Harry. The younger of the two didn't stir until he felt the arms wrap around him, and that's when it snapped him out of his trance.

"What's on your mind kitten?" Charlie whispered into Harry's ear.

"Just what Billy told me," Harry whispered back, turning around to kiss his husband.

"Well I uh, I've got some news too."

"Hm?"

"Apparently...we're...uh...well...going to be dads," Charlie managed to get out, finding making form into coherent sentences quite difficult.

"As is in...our own kid? Ours?" Harry stuttered.

"As in ours," Charlie grinned at the man.

"How's that possible?"

"It's the Castle. It likes you or something. I uh," Charlie had started to say that he was going to take Harry's last name, but he was cut off by his lips slamming together with the other. When they parted, he tried again, "I uh I've decided to take your last name." This time he was met with a very shocked blank stare. "I think our child should have one last name..Potter."

"Are you...are you sure?"

"Yeah," Charlie grinned and the two smashed their lips together once more. "God I love you, Harry. But there's more. Madam Pomprey put up a couple of monitoring charms. She says it's growing three times the normal rate. So he'll be here in a couple of months."

"Oh god! That's wonderful! But uh where's it going to come out?"

"Well, that's the thing. She said when it was time, she'd have to do so magically."

"Oh...it's just wonderful news," Harry said and pulled the man down onto the bed with him, both laying facing the other, interlacing their fingers into one another. They fell fast asleep like that, and sleep peacefully until morning.


End file.
